VICTORIA -- Mounties in Nanaimo are searching for the driver or occupants of a car that was found abandoned following a crash.

An older model Mazda four-door car was found around 2 a.m. Tuesday in a ditch off the Nanaimo Parkway, near the Harewood Mines Road overpass.

Nanaimo RCMP and firefighters attended the scene and police say the car had extensive damage to its driver side, roof and windshield

“It appeared the vehicle had been traveling southbound on the parkway and for unknown reasons, had left the roadway and collided with a large tree that was in the ditch,” police said Tuesday.

A search for occupants in the area turned up nothing.

The car’s previous owner was found through a registry search but the owner says the vehicle was sold a long time ago. Police say the seller does not know who the current owner is.

No one had been admitted to hospital in Nanaimo following the crash, police said.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.